Ken Calvert

Military Installations

The 44th Congressional District uniquely hosts four military bases: March Air Reserve Base, Camp Pendleton, San Clemente Island and NSWC Corona. Below are brief excerpts from their website as well as information as to their importance to our communites. I encourage you to read about each of them and visit their official websites.

MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE

March Air Reserve Base is named for 2nd Lt. Peyton C. March, who died Feb. 18, 1918. It is located 9 mi. southeast of Riverside, California on I-215. The base covers about 6,700 acres. Of these 6,700 acres, the Air Force Reserves retain 2,258 acres at the airport. The airfield's 13,300-foot runway is the longest in California. In addition, Bob Hope made his first USO appearance ever at March Field on May 6, 1941.

The attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 quickly brought March Field into the business of training air crews. Throughout the war many soon-to-be-famous bombardment groups performed their final training at March before embarking for duty in the Pacific. During this period the base doubled in area and at the zenith of the war effort supported approximately 75,000 troops.

March AFB was realigned under Base Closure and Realignment [BRAC] III announced in March 1993, with a realignment date of March 31, 1996. On April 1, 1996, March officially became March Air Reserve Base.

Operating under a caretaker agreement, the March Joint Powers Authority (JPA) began operating and maintaining the realigned portion of March Air Force Base on April 1, 1996. The JPA operates and maintains utility systems in both the realigned area (4,400 acres in the base proper), and in the Air Force Reserve cantonment area (the airport with 2, 258 acres.) The March Joint Powers Authority membership includes the County of Riverside, and the Cities of Moreno Valley, Perris and Riverside.

The March Field Museum Foundation with nearly 1,000 supporters is now solely responsible for maintaining and displaying approximately 5,000 museum items and 50 aircraft on loan from the Air Force. All Air Force financial contributions ended April 1, 1996 when March Air Force Base was realigned.

The 452nd Air Mobility Wing represents the only unit-equipped mobility wing in the Reserve. The Wing's KC-135 Stratotankers and C-141 Starlifters enable it to effectively perform a worldwide mission 365 days a year. It is the only air mobility wing in the Air Force Reserve Command that possesses all of the elements of an air mobility wing. The 163d Air Refueling Wing (ANG) is a tenant unit at March Air Reserve Base assigned to the Air Mobility Command and the California Air National Guard.

The 4th Air Force, part of Air Force Reserve Command, is headquartered at March ARB along with the 452nd Air Mobility Wing. Air Force Reserve Command provides trained units and individuals to accomplish assigned taskings in support of national objectives, and performs peacetime missions that are compatible with training and mobilization readiness requirements. Responsibilities include airlift and refueling duties. It also provides functional mission support units, including aerial port operations, civil engineer, security forces, intelligence, military training, communications, mobility support, combat logistics support, transportation and services. During the summer of 2003, March was selected as one of nine Air Force Reserve Command installations to be designated a joint base or station, reflecting the multi-service use of the facility.

CAMP PENDLETON

Camp Pendleton is committed to operating and maintaining the world’s finest amphibious training facility. Located 38 miles north of downtown San Diego, Camp Pendleton covers over 250,000 acres and approximately 200 square miles of terrain. The stretch of shoreline along the base-- 17½ miles -- is the largest undeveloped portion of coastal area left in Southern California. Camp Pendleton is one of the Department of Defense’s busiest training installations.
The base’s varied topography, combined with its amphibious training areas, inland training ranges and airspace, offers maximum flexibility for Marine Air Ground Task Forces and other service units that require a realistic combat training environment. Each year more than 40,000 active-duty and 26,000 reserve military personnel from all services use Camp Pendleton’s many ranges and training facilities to maintain and sharpen their combat skills.

Each day and night, thousands of Marines, soldiers, sailors and airmen hone their skills from the sea, on land and in the air above the Marine Corps’ premiere amphibious training base. Camp Pendleton is home to the I Marine Expeditionary Force and two of its major subordinate commands – the 1st Marine Division and 1st Force Service Support Group. This finely tuned fighting force is the principal user of the base’s training facilities.

Camp Pendleton offers a wide array of training opportunities: firing ranges for everything from 9 mm pistols to 155 mm artillery; landing beaches; parachute drop zones; aircraft bombing and strafing ranges; three mock urban warfare towns; and large maneuver areas for training tactical units.

The installation provides a wide range of training venues, including accessibility to amphibious landing areas. However, its location on the Pacific Coast between the congested Los Angeles and San Diego metropolitan areas leaves it vulnerable to a variety of encroachment concerns. In particular, rapid growth of adjacent communities (in some cases literally abutting the base boundaries) poses a variety of challenges. Some of these issues are the consequences of unregulated growth in nearby communities. Camp Pendleton has noted that its existing operations are challenged by noise control advocates, in most cases representing communities that were established long after the installation was established and the operations were underway.

Beyond constraints on current operations, these communities have established a pattern of challenging, at times in court, USMC plans to establish new facilities and undertake new operations aboard Camp Pendleton. In particular, adjacent communities have taken legal action to preclude construction and use of helicopter landing facilities in the northern part of Camp Pendleton. Constraints and consequences attributable to growth also include threats to the quality and quantity of the installation's water supply.

Perhaps the most intrusive effects involve the application of a wide range of state and Federal environmental statutes. Camp Pendleton, like many large DoD facilities, manages large parcels of land which have the capability of providing habitat for endangered species. The installation's status as a US Government facility dramatically increases its susceptibility to locally imposed designations under the ESA and supporting regulations, potentially without consideration of the potential costs or reduction in training capability or quality. Ironically, in many cases, especially the identification and establishment of critical habitat for endangered species, the installation is a victim constrained by the legacy of its own long term success in effectively preserving and managing habitats. As adjacent private lands have been developed, activists have become more insistent that Camp Pendleton take action to protect remaining habitat for the seventeen endangered species currently considered to be resident there, and to include other species and other habitat under more restrictive management protocols. Such protection (imposed via restrictive use rules, and flight and ground maneuver avoidance areas) comes at the expense of effective and realistic training.

Of all the Marine Corps bases throughout the world, Camp Pendleton has one of the most intriguing pasts, filled with historical charm and vibrancy. Spanish explorers, colorful politicians, herds of thundering cattle, skillful vaqueros and tough Marines have all contributed to the history of this land.

In the early ‘40s, both the Army and the Marine Corps were looking for land for a large training base. The Army lost interest in the project, but in April of 1942 it was announced that the rancho was about to be transformed into the largest Marine Corps base in the country. It was named for Major General Joseph H. Pendleton who had long advocated the establishment of a West Coast training base. After five months of furious building activity, the 9th Marine Regiment marched from Camp Elliot in San Diego to Camp Pendleton to be the first troops to occupy the new base. On Sept. 25, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt arrived for the official dedication.

Continued expansion and increased concentration of Marine activities on the West Coast, especially after it became apparent that the Marine Corps would have primary responsibility for Pacific operations, necessitated additional land for training purposes. The Marine Corps base at San Diego had become the center for all Marine activities in the Pacific. Nearby Camp Elliott provided the only area for small-unit training, but there was no training facility for the large division-size units that would be fighting the upcoming island campaigns against the Japanese.

On March 10, 1942, the Navy Department announced the purchase of approximately 130,000 acres, the "Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores," located between Los Angeles and San Diego. Construction of the base started March 23, 1942, with the awarding of a contract to build training facilities for amphibious forces.

Camp Pendleton was declared a "permanent" installation in October 1944, and in 1946, Gen. Vandegrift stated that the base’s future role was to be the center of all West Coast activities and the home of the 1st Marine Division, the peacetime strength of which would be 12,500. It was during this period of peacetime that MGen. Graves Erskine, commander of the base then known as Marine Barracks, Camp Pendleton, was determined to develop the base into "the finest Marine post in the world."

Peacetime activities came to an abrupt halt in 1950 with the outbreak of the Korean War. Reservists crowded into Camp Pendleton, headed for the front, faster than the base could process them. Camp Pendleton’s role as a training and replacement command was reflected in the nearly 200,000 Marines who passed through the base on their way to the Far East.

The Vietnam years again saw a buildup of men and machines bound for Indochina. The movement of the 1st Marine Division to the Far East occurred more gradually than in Korea and WWII. The combat environment and training methods changed over the years, but the purpose remained – train Marines to fight and get them to battle.

Today, over 60,000 military and civilians work on board the base. Their commitment to the nation’s defense is admirable, and their ties to the local communities of San Clemente, Oceanside, and Fallbrook are particularly strong. 

NSWC CORONA

The Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Corona Division - a Naval Sea Systems Command activity, is the Navy's only independent analysis and assessment center. The mission of the NSWC Corona Division is to "Gauge the warfighting capacity of ships and aircraft, from unit to battlegroup level, by assessing the suitability of design, the performance of weapons and equipment, and the adequacy of training." In order to carry out this mission, NSWC Corona Division possesses a number of unique capabilities. Foremost among these is the Joint Warfare Assessment Laboratory (JWAL) - the cornerstone of an integrated approach to warfare assessment and the focal point of internal and external interconnectivity.

NSWC Corona Division is comprised of three Centers of Excellence, four departments, and more than 950 scientists and engineers, 700 contractors, and one of the Navy's largest scientific and engineering computer operations. More than 180 critical programs are assigned to the Center with about $180 million dollars of annual expenditures.
The site of the NSWC Corona Division was once a playground for the rich and famous. A 700-acre luxury resort once operated here in Norco, built by Rex Clark in 1928. Frequented by silent-screen stars, the complex sported a gambling casino, golf course, 55 acre lake, a hot sulfur spring spa, an airport, and a magnificent, 5-story hotel. Sitting atop a knoll, the hotel had a commanding view of Lake Norconian and the surrounding countryside. With the stock market crash of 1929, the resort plunged into a 12-year decline culminating in Clark agreeing to sell the complex to the Navy for 1.6 million dollars December 6th, 1941, one day before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Under the direction of Dr. Robert D. Huntoon, most of the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) Missile Development Division began to move to the west coast and Unit II was formally designated as the NBS Corona Laboratories. Under Dr. Huntoon's leadership, the organization rapidly expanded to 250 scientists, technicians, and necessary support personnel. This staff continued to concentrate on missiles and improving methods of guiding and fusing them.

The Naval Warfare Assessment Division of the Naval Ordnance Center dedicated a new 48,000 square-foot Warfare Assessment building April 6th, 1994. The $9,425,532 Joint Warfare Assessment Laboratory provides a consolidated secure facility to analyze fleet readiness and capability during world-wide multi-service training exercises.

SAN CLEMENTE ISLAND

The San Clemente Island Range Complex (SCIRC) consists of San Clemente Island (SCI) land, air and sea training ranges and designated operational areas to the south and west of SCI which are controlled by a single command and control system on SCI. The range and operations area on San Clemente Island is owned entirely by the Navy and accommodates naval surface fire support, air-to-ground ordnance delivery operations, and special operations. Its location near San Diego is critical for efficient use of training dollars.

The San Clemente Island is the only surface fire support range on the West Coast. And with the closing in 2003 of the bombing range at Vieques, San Clemente Island is the Navy's last ship-to-shore live-fire range. Training on the island has increased 25% since the terrorist attacks of September 2001. The Department of Defense began construction in July 2002 of a a $21-million simulated US embassy compound to train troops in rescuing Americans.

San Clemente Island (SCI) is the southernmost of the eight California Channel Islands. It lies 55 nautical miles (nm) south of Long Beach and 68 nm west of San Diego. The island is approximately 21 nm long and is 4-1/2 nm across at its widest point. The Commander-in-Chief, Naval Forces, Pacific (CINCPACFLT) is the major claimant for the island, and Naval Air Station, North Island (NASNI) is responsible for its administration.

The San Clemente Island Range Complex (SCIRC) is the cornerstone of the tactical training ranges supporting the Southern California Operations Area (SOCAL OPAREA). SOCAL supports the largest concentration of naval forces in the world. The SCI land, air, and sea ranges provide the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and other military services space and facilities which they use to conduct readiness training and test and evaluation activities. SCI's distance from the mainland and its complete Navy ownership make the island and its surrounding area ideal for fleet training, weapon and electronics system testing, and research and development activities.

This integrated set of ranges and operational areas covers approximately 2,620 square nautical miles and consists of more than six dozen ranges and operational areas. The extent of these areas range from the ocean floor to an altitude of 80,000 feet.

The SCIRC is the cornerstone of tactical training in the Southern California region. The primary purpose of the Complex is to provide readiness training for units and personnel who deploy overseas to meet the national strategy of forward presence and global engagement. Among the evolving needs that precipitated the proposed action are the need for more training in: littoral warfare, including mine counter-measures; electronic warfare; missile firing; operations in the shore bombardment area (SHOBA), amphibious operations; and Naval Special Warfare. Increased need for test and evaluation activities is also anticipated.

To reduce the use of diesel fuel and prevent harmful emissions, the Naval facility on San Clemente Island installed three 225-kilowatt wind turbines. From February 1998 to April 2000, the turbines produced two million kWhs, approximately 13 percent of the island’s total electricity needs. In the future, the turbines should provide 15 percent or more of the island’s electricity, further reducing diesel fuel use and emissions.

San Clemente Island and the waters surrounding the island are used and visited by a variety of organizations, including military, civilian government, contractors, environmentalists, civic organizations, fishing vessels, pleasure craft, and others.